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Sunday, March 23, 2014

52 Ancestors: #12 - Elizabeth JOLLETT King

Amy Johnson Crow of No Story Too Small has issued a
challenge: write one blog post each week
devoted to a specific ancestor. It can
be a story, a biography, a photograph, an outline of a research problem –
anything that focuses on one ancestor.

James and Nancy Jollett were on a roll with those
daughters. Number 4 was Elizabeth
Jollett, born about 1796 in Orange County, Virginia. The little bit of her life that remains on
record can be found in 3 census records, a listing in a marriage register, and
a death record.

On May 20, 1822, James signed permission for young
Elizabeth to marry Reuben King. Her brother Simeon served as witness and bondsman.

Now Reuben is an enigma.
As unlikely as it sounds, the name “Reuben King” was as popular as John
Smith. A search for the name finds a
large number of Civil War records for ol’ Reuben, but it is highly unlikely
that they could be THIS Reuben’s records.
He would have been much too old
to serve.

In 1810 there is a Reuben King listed as head of
household in Rockingham County. A
marriage record dated 1809 in Rockingham for the union of Reuben to Anna Sipe suggests
this is the family. But that marriage
predates the 1822 marriage of Reuben and Elizabeth.

OK, Elizabeth could be a second wife. A much younger second wife. It happened all the time when a widower
needed someone to step in and care for his children.

However, there is no evidence that Reuben was widowed or
that Elizabeth became stepmother to the large number of children in the King
family of 1820.

In 1830, back in Orange County where Elizabeth’s parents
lived, the ages and gender of James’s household suggest there could be a
son-in-law and grandchildren there. But
the numbers do not match the 1820 Reuben King family. Perhaps that family was old enough to be on
their own and he was starting over with Elizabeth. Or this is an entirely different Reuben King.

Sometime after 1830, I believe Reuben King dropped out of
the picture either by desertion or death.
In the 1840 Greene County, Virginia census, the ages and gender of the 5
members of the household fit James Jollett (70-80), Elizabeth King and her
sister (females 40-50), and their respective daughters (20-30). No Reuben King in the state of Virginia.

In 1850, Elizabeth King was head of household in Greene
County, probably in the house she grew up in, maybe taking over when her father
passed away. Living with her were her
daughter Columbia, future son-in-law Thomas Marsh, and a sister and niece.

In 1860, the 76 year old Elizabeth, who could neither
read nor write, was living in the household of Thomas Marsh, husband to her
daughter Columbia. Elizabeth now had one
grandson whose name appears first as “E T.”

By 1870, Thomas had moved the family to Rockingham
County. Elizabeth was still with him,
Columbia, and the grandson “Elliott.” Also
in the household is someone named Susan Jolliffe. Even if that is a miss-hearing and
misspelling of Jollett, I don’t know who it is.

In 1878, Elizabeth’s death was reported by Frances
Jollett who is listed as her granddaughter.
I believe Frances was actually a niece, not a granddaughter since Thomas
and Columbia had no other children besides Elliott.

So Elizabeth was 94 or 95 when she died? Amazing. Isn't it frustrating to think you have an ancestor with an uncommon name, only to find it isn't? I wonder if/when more resources will be available to help you get enough details to know more certainly about this family.... I always just keep hoping for more resources online or a better understanding of what else might be available in other places.

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About Me

My name is Wendy. About twenty years ago, I helped my mother research the Jolletts. Since retiring from teaching, I have expanded my research which I share here. When I’m not looking for my own family, I index for FamilySearch and the Greene County Historical Society.
Welcome to Jollett Etc. Please leave a comment to let me know you were here. If you have more information or believe we are related, EMAIL ME at wendymath at cox dot net